Health

Health

The Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) protections for LGBTQ people and their health are hanging in the balance after a federal judge in Texas struck down the entire law on Friday in a move that will almost certainly take the issue back to the Supreme Court. Comment

Politics

An upstate New York town clerk who became a hero among right wingers opposed to same-sex marriage after she refused to issue a wedding license to a lesbian couple in 2011 quietly left her job in 2017 amid tensions with her colleagues in town government that prompted her to file a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Comment

Politics

Politics

Congressmember Dina Titus, a five-term Democrat from Nevada, has proposed new legislation that would bolster the United States’ role in advocating for LGBTQ and intersex people’s rights around the world. Comment

International

International

Advocacy groups in Kenya are rushing to relocate LGBTQ refugees who are facing brutal retaliation from local communities and authorities after they protested a spike in homophobic attacks at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in the northwestern region of the East African nation. Comment

Crime

Crime

One week after city councilmembers and other elected officials unveiled a proposal to open a city office dedicated to hate crimes, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced his office is creating a Hate Crimes Bureau. Comment

Film

Film

2018 featured memorable films by LGBTQ filmmakers, for LGBTQ audiences, and about LGBTQ topics. This was a year where Hollywood achieved a few notable firsts: A major studio released its first teen comedy with a gay leading character, “Love, Simon.” The Chilean film, “A Fantastic Woman,” about a trans woman (Daniela Vega) grappling with the sudden death of her lover, won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, the trans-themed film to be honored by the Academy. And “Crazy Rich Asians,” which featured an LGBTQ character in a supporting role, became the first Hollywood film in 25 years to have an all-Asian cast. Comment

Politics

Politics

While retiring US Senator Orrin Hatch endorsed pluralism in his farewell speech and said it could lead to compromises between the LGBTQ community and religious conservatives who oppose legislative advances for that community, he failed to note that the compromises he championed in his 42-year career in the US Senate were controversial in the LGBTQ community. Comment

Politics

Politics

The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) unveiled a new report detailing gender employment discrimination based on responses from 118 transgender and gender non-confirming people in the city. Comment

Theater

Theater

By the time the monkey shows up, the show is pretty much over. That’s because the new musical “King Kong” has very little going for it other than the enormous puppet, which, when at its full height, nearly reaches the top of the proscenium of the Broadway Theatre. It’s an impressive bit of engineering, design, and rigging brought to life by a team of about 10 puppeteers. The animatronic face and the voice are run by a team of technicians at the back of the theater. But, like most attractions from Barnum to Disney, once seen and marveled at, there’s not really much more to it. Feast your eyes, and head to the exits. Comments (1)

Politics

Politics

Ahead of the new legislative season in January, 152 out LGBTQ elected officials nationwide have penned a letter addressed to members of Congress seeking action on four main initiatives to advance queer rights. Comment

Breaking News

“Citing “prosecutorial misconduct” and a judge’s “erroneous rulings,” the defense in a Brooklyn assault case that was originally charged as an anti-LGBTQ hate crime has asked that the defendant’s conviction be vacated and he be granted a new trial. Comment

Theater

Theater

When jukebox musicals falter, and they often do, critics are quick to blame the book. Unlike traditional book musicals, where score and story are conceived hand-in-glove, jukebox musicals attempt to shoehorn a narrative between beloved, preexisting songs. The fit inevitably feels off. Comment

Crime

Crime

A pastor who shot and killed a transgender black woman in Detroit on December 7 targeted her because of gender identity — and evidence of that will be presented in court, Wayne County prosecutors told Gay City News. Comments (2)

Legal

Legal

Adopting a narrow construction of the Kentucky Supreme Court’s historic 2010 same-sex co-parent decision in Mullins v. Picklesimer, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Kentucky, ruling on November 30, held that Teri Whitehouse, the former partner of Tammie Delaney, is not entitled to joint custody and parenting time with a child born to Delaney during the women’s relationship. Comment

Event

A Jewish lesbian comedian in Brooklyn is still searching for a venue for her New Year’s Eve performance after local rabbis pressured the owners of two kosher restaurants into rejecting her because of her sexual orientation. Comments (8)

Politics

Politics

Three Democratic US senators and the ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security have sent letters to the heads of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) demanding answers after a transgender woman died in US custody while seeking asylum from Honduras. Comments (1)

Health

Health

A $2 million-dollar contract to fund research and testing for HIV treatment is shrouded in uncertainty after the Trump administration confirmed it has not yet made a decision on whether to renew it, citing concerns about fetal tissue used in that research. Comment

Health

Health

More uninsured or underinsured New Yorkers living with HIV will be eligible for financial assistance with their healthcare costs beginning in 2019, according to new regulations announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Comments (1)